Mistress turns in 'corrupt' Chinese vice admiral

A senior Chinese naval officer faces corruption charges after he was turned in by a disgruntled mistress, it emerged yesterday, in one of the biggest sex-and-money exposés in the history of the People's Liberation Army.

Vice admiral Wang Shouye - one of five navy deputy commanders and a member of China's legislature - is accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes from developers. If found guilty, he would be the highest ranking officer in the PLA to be convicted of a crime. The maximum penalty for corruption is death.

The state-controlled domestic media have made no mention of the case, but Hong Kong newspapers and international agencies say Mr Wang used his former position as head of logistics to solicit financial kickbacks. The Tianjin University graduate, who was promoted to deputy commander in 2001, reportedly received up to 120m yuan (£8m) in return for lucrative deals to build new barracks.

His alleged offence was revealed by a girlfriend after he refused her blackmail demands. "Wang Shouye kept several mistresses. One of them reported him to the authorities," an unnamed military source told Reuters.

The scandal comes little more than a month after the communist party sent a circular around the 2.5m-man military, demanding tougher measures to reduce graft.

"It is very important for the army to retain its characteristics and nature as a people's army. Heading off corruption will lay a solid political and disciplinary foundation for the army to perform its tasks in the new century," the PLA told reporters at the time.

But kickbacks and other forms of bribery are endemic in China, where the hybrid of capitalist economics and communist politics has nurtured a civil service where officials pursue personal wealth with little or no accountability to an electorate or the media.

In 1998 the PLA was ordered to cut its links with affiliates, including hotels, karaoke bars and theatres. But many ties with business remain.

Demobbed officers often take up managerial positions in army-related companies.